Fairgrounds power problems leave expo organizers scrambling

Monday

Feb 25, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 25, 2008 at 4:15 PM

The state has agreed to refund more than $13,000 in facilities charges after electrical problems at the Illinois State Fairgrounds forced relocation of the annual Illinois Beef Expo to the convention center in Bloomington.

Tim Landis

The state has agreed to refund more than $13,000 in facilities charges after electrical problems at the Illinois State Fairgrounds forced relocation of the annual Illinois Beef Expo to the convention center in Bloomington.

But the bigger issue was finding space for 10,000 to 12,000 participants, and about 1,000 animals, on short notice.

“Many of these people have planned for a year to genetically get their animals ready to sell. We didn’t feel like we had the option to just to cancel the event,” said Maralee Johnson, executive vice president of the 1,800-member association.

As a result, organizers were scrambling Monday to prepare the Interstate Center in Bloomington for Friday’s opening of a shortened, three-day expo.

Illinois Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Squibb said the agency has agreed to refund $13,140 to expo organizers up to now. Johnson said the refunds could go as high as $19,000, but that probably will not cover all of the expenses for use of the Interstate Center.

Organizers also are out $4,000 for marketing the Springfield site and another $4,000 for the purchase of bark bedding for the animals.

Johnson said the group was just glad to be able to find a new location.

She also declined to speculate on the future of the event in Springfield.

“We’d like to have one there (in Bloomington) and see what works. There would be some challenges to having one there, but obviously we would prefer to be in a facility that is reliable and meets our needs,” she said.

The Illinois Beef Expo has been held for 20 years at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The annual Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale, one of the top events of its kind in the country, has been at the fairgrounds for 40 years.

But fairgrounds officials notified the association just five days before the show was scheduled to open Feb. 21 that the traditional fairgrounds facilities could not be used because of safety concerns caused by the electrical problems.

University of Illinois Extension specialist Dave Seibert, who has managed the bull sale for 18 years, said a couple of the 500 commercial buyers who were sent catalogs for the 2008 sale showed up in Springfield, despite efforts to contact everyone.

“Our biggest fear was that people would come and not be aware. The first week or so, my name was mud,” he said.

Seibert said some sellers and buyers probably will not attend the rescheduled show in Bloomington, but it appears attendance should be close to normal.

“It’s just unfortunate. We understand you can’t put people’s safety at risk, but there has been a lot of stress and strain,” he said.

Maryland grain and cattle farmer Michael Harrison has been coming to Springfield every other year for 25 years. He had to cancel his hotel reservations after the show was forced to move to Bloomington.

Harrison, who has about 40 Angus cows on his Washington Farm outside Frederick, Md., said Illinois has a reputation as one of the top states for bulls used in breeding.

“Every other year, we buy a bull, and I’m trying to get it arranged so I can come out there Friday,” he said.

Tim Landis can be reached at (217) 788-1536.

The Illinois Beef Expo, one of several events canceled by electrical problems at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, has been rescheduled for Friday through Sunday at the Interstate Center in Bloomington.

STONINGTON — Blue Ston Farms spends the better part of two years on the selection of Angus bulls for the annual Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale in Springfield. Last year, the family operation sold four bulls at an average of $3,000 each.

This year, they’ll bring six. But there are no guarantees, genetically speaking.

“You can get them ready to go, but you still might flunk out. It’s a tough sale, but that’s what keeps the quality up,” said T.J. Curtin, the fourth generation to work the family operation northeast of Taylorville.

The annual auction, which in 40 years has sold more than 4,000 breeding bulls valued at $6.4 million, is intended to showcase the best Illinois producers have to offer each year in the intense competition for a better cut of beef.

It can be a profitable show for producers whose animals make the grade. Last year, 97 animals sold for an average of slightly more than $2,000 each.

But a University of Illinois Extension specialist who has been involved with the sale for more than 30 years, including 18 as manager, said the show also educates producers on the latest in beef genetics and technology.

“It really selects breeds for the commercial market. They have to jump through many, many hoops to get to our sale,” said Dave Seibert.

The selections ultimately determine the quality of beef cuts in the local supermarket, he said.

As an example, Siebert said genetics and improved feed have raised the typical one-year weight for bulls to 1,300 to 1,500 pounds compared to 900 to 950 pounds 40 years ago.

Siebert said about 135 bulls are expected at this year’s sale, now scheduled for Friday at the Interstate Center in Bloomington, but probably only about 95 will make it to the auction block.

Bulls are judged on six criteria: birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, milk quality of cows produced, intramuscular fat (prime, select or choice grade), and the quality of the ribeye.

The result is a “power score” of 1 to 100. The lower the score, the better. Most fall into a 25-35 range, though Siebert said one year the Blue Ston Angus herd earned a record 4.5. A “1” is basically considered impossible, he added.

“That would be like hitting a home run at every at bat for four years,” he said.

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